


Nama-Slay

by melodiousoblivion



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, basically everyone is here, its gay and lovely and happy, they create a yoga studio, trans!Jasper, yoga fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-06-01 14:58:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 7,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15145643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodiousoblivion/pseuds/melodiousoblivion
Summary: The Delinquents open a yoga studio that is designed for everyone. This fic is designed as articles written about the studio and blog posts. I have no idea how yoga works so bare with me.





	1. Chapter 1

**Nama-Slay Studio**

**About Us!**

Nama-Slay studio was created after non-yogi Clarke Griffin complained to yogi Bellamy Blake about the lack of diversity in yoga offerings, and from there this studio blossomed. It is diverse, inclusive, fun, and friendly with the goal of never leaving someone left out. Classes are designed with participants in mind and are always the blend of traditional and modern that has become Nama-Slay’s signature.

**Studio Offerings!**

Yoga for Dummies: taught by Clarke and Bellamy this was Nama-Slay’s original class! Bellamy goes through the actual positions while Clarke translates and offers commentary

Veteran Vinyasa: resident badass veteran Raven Reyes created this course with other veterans in mind and it is designed to help vets reconnect with their bodies while home from war

LGBT centric: Monty Green and Jasper Jordan lead this class which is all about rediscovering your gender identity and sexuality in a world that so often makes the queer community hide

Body Positivity: Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake are the teachers in this class that welcomes all body types and teaches to what the individuals need (even if its a very non-yogi dance party)

Kama Sutra: Much to her older brothers chagrin Octavia Blake and Lincoln Woods teach this steamy class on the sexual nature of yoga

Kids: Clarke Griffin and Madi Griffin are the mother-daughter duo behind this fun filled class. Expect other teachers to pop in just to absorb the good vibes!

Advanced Flow: The actual yogi’s insisted on this class so if you’re a good yogi come on over and hang out with Bellamy, Octavia, Lincoln, and Jasper while you bend your bodies in ways it was NOT created to do!

**Read the Articles Written About Us!**

Buzzfeed 

New York Times 

Cosmo 

People

**Check Us Out on Social Media!**

Instagram 

Twitter 

Blog


	2. Chapter 2

**I spent a day at the hottest yoga studio**

**by Harper McIntyre for Cosmopolitan**

It is 7 am on a Sunday morning and no one at Nama-Slay Studio is wearing a shirt. I don't mean this in a "people with boobs have on sports bras" type of way, I mean it in an "I walk in and I see everyone's boobs" type of way. The only person wearing a top is 10-year-old Madi Griffin who is doing her math homework at the front desk when I walk in. She looks at me quizzically with big blue eyes and asks me a question about quantum physics. I've never felt more out of my league. When I tell her I don't know quantum physics she rolls her eyes and takes me to the back room of the studio where no one is wearing clothes. 

The teachers at Nama-Slay Studio are all shirtless to celebrate Jasper Jordan's recent top surgery and return to the studio. He can't teach yet but the drains are finally out and that called for a dance party. It's an eclectic group dancing to Whitney Houston in the room. Including the teachers, there is Nathan Miller and Maya Vie who are Monty Green and Jasper Jordan's significant others respectively. When Madi Griffin enters the room and yells that there is someone here who doesn't know quantum physics but needs to talk to Clarke, everyone stops and looks at me. They aren't uncomfortable at all and Clarke Griffin, short with blonde and pink hair, reaches a hand forward to shake mine. Madi has moved to stand with Jasper and he's playing with her hair. The group looks like a basket of kittens, all just hanging off each other. 

Before you understand the inner-workings of this studio you must understand how it began. The Griffin family and the Blake family were neighbors leading to Bellamy, Clarke, and Octavia becoming best friends. Monty Green and Jasper Jordan went to their school and Jasper eventually moved in with the Blake's after his parents were unsupportive of him identifying as male. Classmates Raven Reyes and Clarke were dating the same guy until they found out about one another, dumped him, and became friends. Clarke met Lincoln Woods in college and now he's dating Octavia. Madi Griffin is Clarke's adopted daughter. Years later, Griffin inherited this building from her father and turned the bottom two floors into the yoga studio and the upper two floors into a living area where she, Madi, Bellamy, and Raven formally live but everyone else just comes and goes as they please. 

The studio is open 6 days a week, Tuesday-Sunday and Monday's are used as work days for recovery, organization, and bonding. For young Madi Griffin, it's her least favorite day because everyone checks in on her school work. She's homeschooled out of the studio and the peculiar makeup of the adults helps give her a rounded education. The person who is able to answer her quantum physics question is Raven Reyes, badass and engineer.

Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake take me to the office on the second floor to conduct a formal interview (to come in a later article). The office is surprisingly tame for the rest of the studio. Blake and Griffin sit next to each other on a couch, subtly touching at the knees, elbows, and shoulders. They're like magnets, says Octavia Blake. The interview is done before the first class is taught at 6:30, the Yoga for Dummies offering that made them famous. I get the opportunity to sit in on this class and it is as amazing as everyone says it is.

The class begins easily enough, Griffin and Blake stand at the front of the class, Blake peaceful and Griffin with a sparkle in her eyes. As someone who does yoga semi-often, the class was a welcome break to the hot yoga I'm used to. Griffin and Blake tease each other the whole time, leavening the tension and making everyone's shoulders shake with laughter. It goes a little something like this:

"Now transition into downward dog." "No dog can stick it's ass up this high so create a V like you're trying to twerk."

"If you can, follow with me to crow pose" "What the actual fuck are you doing Bellamy?" Then Griffin kicks him over from his position.

The LGBT centric class is taught by Monty Green and Nathan Miller, who is filling in for Jordan. It is one of the most uplifting classes I have ever been a part of. Class begins and ends with everyone sitting in a circle, holding hands, and spreading positive energy to each other. Green wears a pride flag around his shoulders the whole time and people come to class decked out in pride gear. One of my favorite people is wearing only glitter in lieu of a shirt.

Classes end at 10 am and the teachers take a 4-hour break before they begin again at 2. Once again they look like children rather than adults. Octavia and Madi are painting Miller's nails while Maya Vie, licensed physical therapist, is massaging Reyes' hurt leg as she lounges against Jordan's legs who's head is in Griffin's lap who is playing a game of candy crush on her phone while Blake offers unsolicited advice next to her. I'm unsure of where I belong but when Griffin asks me to tell Bellamy to shut up for her because if she has to say it one more time she'll murder him I feel like a member of the group. That and Green is now braiding my hair.

People may call Nama-Slay Studio a fad and say that it'll be gone in a month but if the dedication that I've seen from these people for each other is anything like the dedication they have to yoga, the world will have no clue what's coming at it.

 

_Stay tuned for interviews with the people behind Nama-Slay, coming soon._


	3. Chapter 3

**An interview with Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin**

**by Harper McIntyre for Cosmopolitan**

This is the first interview in a series about Nama-Slay Studio.

 

 

_Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are as connected as any two people have ever been. In the day I've been with them they've communicated in glances, raised eyebrows, and single word conversations. It's clear that they are the heart and soul of this studio._

 

**How did you become friends?**

CG: Oh god, I barely remember when we weren't friends. Our houses were right next to each other so I've always had Octavia and Bellamy in my life.

BB: A thorn in my side for as long as I can remember.

CG: Shut up  _(she elbows him in the side and he flicks her without even looking)_ you love me, you've always loved me and you can't get rid of me now.

BB: I know a guy.

 

**When did the idea for this studio come together?**

BB: Clarke was absolutely wasted one night and told me that she was mad that yoga wasn't inclusive and we should open our own studio. Little did she know some of our friends and I were already discussing it.

CG: It just made sense.

 

**Clarke, you were training to be a doctor, why the switch?**

CG: I was a doctor because of certain people placing pressure on me to be a doctor. Once I took a step back I realized I no longer wanted my life to be dictated by others.

BB: And your bedside manner was horrible. I hurt my arm once and she laughed at me for 15 minutes instead of doing anything.

CG: You hurt your arm because you fell off the bed. While jumping on it. 

BB: With YOUR daughter!

 

**Your mother is Senator Abigail Griffin, but you often speak out against her more conservative viewpoints** **, how is your relationship?**

CG: My mother likes to think that the best option is to work with the current president. I disagree. She's my mother, yes, but she's not my family. We haven't had a relationship since my father died and I don't think we ever will.

BB: That's enough on that subject.

 

**Bellamy, you primarily raised your sister after your mother died, how did yoga factor into that?**

BB: Yoga became an escape. I took to it and luckily so did Octavia. It was a side job that I enjoyed and when we became financially stable, I was able to commit to it full time.

CG: Bellamy has given up more than anyone ever should for his sister. It's amazing.

 

**Clarke, what's it like raising a child and running your own business?**

CG: The studio opened two years ago and I began fostering Madi three years ago when she was 7. I began the adoption process right at the same time we opened Nama-Slay so it was a lot at once. Luckily I have an amazing support system in place and we were able to figure it out.

BB: Everyone loves Madi and has loved Madi since day one. We would do anything for her.

CG: He does do anything for her. Including ice cream, cookies, letting her stay up late...

BB: Yeah. Whoops.

 

**Your members have commented and speculated on the possibility of a relationship between the two of you, any comment?**

BB: We have a relationship.

CG: A platonic relationship.

BB: Seriously though, we live together, we're best friends, I'm helping raise her daughter, so it can seem like we're something more but we aren't.

CG: We love each other but that doesn't mean we're in love with each other.

 

**The studio is in the public eye fairly often, why do you choose to be so public?**

CG: We started out very small with a devoted base and we wanted people to know us.

BB: Also we're a diverse group of people and we want to help others. If we can do that through blog posts, great. If we can do that through twitter, great. If we do that through yoga, great.

 

**Where do you see yourselves 10 years from now?**

BB: Either still teaching or having passed the studio down to the next generation.

CG: Still best friends, though.

BB: Always

 

Next interview: Monty Green and Jasper Jordan


	4. Chapter 4

**An interview with Monty Green and Jasper Jordan**

**by Harper McIntyre for Cosmopolitan**

 

_Best friends Monty Green and Jasper Jordan are almost as connected as Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin. Their closeness has been forged through struggle and supporting each other when no one else would._

 

**How did you meet Clarke and Bellamy?**

JJ: We're the same age as Bellamy's little sister, Octavia, so we became friends with her.

MG: Eventually we started going over to their house and Bellamy became like our big brother.

JJ: When I came out to my family, they were extremely unaccepting. So, I went to the house where I knew they'd accept me. That happened to be the Blake's. 

MG: Clarke was their next door neighbor and whenever we were over with Octavia, she'd be there as well. She and Bellamy took care of us and in addition to basically raising Octavia, they raised a bunch of us as well.

 

**When they proposed a yoga studio, how did you feel?**

MG: Bellamy and I had been talking about it for a bit already so I was happy.

JJ: And it made sense they'd start one together because where Clarke is-

MG: There Bellamy will be

JJ: We looked at it as an opportunity to hang out with our friends and do something we loved.

 

**Jasper, how did yoga affect your transition?**

JJ: What I love about yoga is that it gives me an opportunity to connect with my body and it really helped me accept my body in all its forms. Pre-T, during T, post-surgery.

 

**On the side, you're both large activists, does that play into the way you practice yoga?**

MG: All of us at the studio are activists and we support each other.

JJ: We remind each other to practice self-care, host sign making parties, and cry when needed.

MG: Yoga lets us escape from the madness for a bit and just recenter ourselves

 

**You teach the wildly popular LGBTQ centric class, how'd you get the idea to start that?**

JJ: I wanted a yoga class that would be fun and lowkey and helps people discover themselves. 

MG: Clarke and Bellamy loved the idea of an LGBTQ centric class. They're both openly bi and feel ostracized from the community sometimes.

JJ: So this class has every flag flying and its very rainbow-y and accepting.

 

**Do either of your partners practice yoga?**

MG: Nate will, but he doesn't enjoy it.

JJ: He taught with Monty while I was recovering from surgery.

MG: Yeah, I'm pretty lucky.

JJ: Maya doesn't practice yoga, but occasionally she'll attend yoga for dummies.

MG: She is very good at massaging sore muscles.

 

Next Interview: Octavia Blake


	5. Chapter 5

**An interview with Octavia Blake**

**by Harper McIntyre for Cosmopolitan**

 

 

 

_Octavia Blake is extremely intimidating. She has green eyes that seem to see everything and the facial structure of an Amazonian warrior. Life hasn't been kind to Octavia, affectionately known as O (by her brother), but she hasn't let that get her down. I would've liked to have a longer interview with her but she decided to cut it short, citing 'exhaustion'._

 

**How well did you know Clarke growing up?**

OB: Clarke was always around. She was the one who gave me the sex talk, puberty talk, basically all the talks that made Bell uncomfortable. I remember one night after I stayed out way past curfew coming back to our house and expecting them to be yelling at me but instead finding them asleep on the couch. They tried to stay up but failed. Clarke's a mix between a mother and a big sister. 

 

**What was it like being raised by your brother?**

OB: Stressful. Our mom was alive but not around. We had sporadic income from her, and I remember Bell would have to hide it from her so she wouldn't steal it back for drugs. I remember never knowing what bills we'd have to pay, but I also remember love. I remember Bell always making sure I had eaten enough, that I didn't have to get a job until I was 14, having Clarke at the house on nights he'd have to work. It was hard, but I always had him.

 

**Before joining the studio you had a strong training in judo, why'd you switch to yoga?**

OB: Bell always practiced yoga and it was calming for him. For me, hitting things was my outlet. Now that I'm financially stable and more mentally stable I don't feel the need to hit things anymore. Working at the studio gives me the opportunity to be with the people I love doing something I'm good at.

 

**How do you define family?  
**

OB: Family is the people who love you unconditionally. No matter how bad I was, I always had Bell. No matter how much of a bitch I was, I always had Clarke. And I know that none of my past will change the way Madi loves me. A family shouldn't come with requirements, and mine doesn't.

 

**What's your favorite part about teaching yoga?**

OB: I love helping people. Watching one of my regulars finally get a pose is such a fantastic feeling.


	6. Chapter 6

**The best parents a girl could ask for**

**by Madi Griffin**

 

 

People ask me a lot what it's like having a single mother, and I always want to correct them. Clarke adopted me and she's my sole legal guardian but she's not doing this alone. The first time I met Clarke it was with Bellamy. My social worker dropped me off at Clarke's apartment and she answered the door with paintbrushes stabbed in her hair and cleaning supplies in her hand. She had the look of someone who just wanted to help but didn't know how. The door opened wider and I saw Bellamy. At first, I was confused because my social worker said she was single but Clarke explained that she wasn't expecting me until an hour later and that Bellamy lived with her and was her best friend. So yeah, Clarke is single but not alone. 

She was super worried about what I'd think about Bellamy and told me often that he could move out if I was uncomfortable. I liked Bellamy. He was more relaxed and was able to calm Clarke down when she got worried. I assumed one day he'd move out but now it seems like he'll be here forever. I like that. He's kinda like my dad. He drives me places, takes care of me when Clarke's working, lives with us, and always listens to me. 

I have other caregivers too. Monty, Jasper, Octavia, and Raven all have become friend/sibling/aunt/uncle to me.

Monty and Jasper take me to the park, and movies, and don't tell Clarke or Bellamy if I exploded something during science lessons. Octavia teaches me how to stand up for myself, and that my past doesn't define my future. Raven is just a calming presence and gives really good hugs.

My days consist of me being told how loved I am, getting hugs, learning, and having fun. I am constantly in the presence of people I trust who treat me as equal. I have a strong home base in Clarke and a strong backup in Bellamy. I am loved unconditionally by no less than 6 parents. That's the best thing in the world.

 

(Hi everyone, Clarke here. Madi asked if she could write this post and I haven't edited it at all. She's going to do one more about homeschooling soon!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Daily homeschooling schedule**

**by Madi Griffin**

 

**5:30**

Bellamy will get me up by throwing a pillow at my head because Clarke can't function without coffee and after he drags me off the bed we have breakfast. I have a smoothie and granola on yogurt, Bellamy has a protein shake, Clarke drinks 4 glasses of coffee and eats a spoonful of peanut butter that Bell made her have.

 

**6**

I finish up whatever work I forgot to do yesterday while Bell and Clarke do some work.

 

**6:30**

Physics/Engineering with Raven! If she doesn't have a class and doesn't want to do a more traditional lesson we'll go and work on a car so she can teach me life skills. Most of the time she shows me why she graduated Valedictorian at MIT and helps me through physics problems that make Clarkes head spin

 

**7:30**

Chemistry with Jasper! We get to blow stuff up and Bellamy yells at us. 

 

**8**

Biology with Monty! Occasionally I'll ask him questions about sex just to watch him get flustered. He'll also film me asking Bellamy or Clarke about sex because they start sputtering. All in all, 10/10 class.

 

**8:30**

Break!!! The people in our neighborhood are walking to work now so I'll sit on the stoop and talk to them. Ms. Ramon always gives me a cinnamon bun.

 

**9:30**

Nature stuff with Lincoln! This is more just time for us to hang out. We'll watch NatGeo, sometimes go on nature walks. 

 

 

**10**

History with Bellamy! He gets so into this class it's adorable. He's also really into learning about decolonializing history and not letting me learn the "white-washed, misogynistic, racist, xenophobic" version of it.

 

**11**

Art with Clarke! We doodle and practice with different mediums and learn about different artists. One time Clarke let me dye her hair.

 

 

**12**

Lunch! Raven and Bellamy are in charge (yes, Bell does all the cooking. Clarke can't cook. At all.)

 

**12:30**

Self-defense with Octavia! Pretty much my favorite class. 

 

**1:30**

Personal discovery class with me! I get to choose what I want to learn about and follow it. Recently it's been about how cartoons influence children and can be used for good/evil.

 

**2:30**

Break! Monty will take me to a local playground or something.

 

**4**

Clarke and I teach our class at this time.

 

**5**

Dinner! Again, Bell cooks, and today we have fettuccine alfredo.

 

**8**

Bellamy has usually crashed on the couch watching some history thing and Clarke will help him get to bed. Then I go to bed. We're early to rise, early to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Single mom life**

**by Clarke Griffin**

 

 

I didn't intend to adopt a child. I was interested in foster care because I knew that older children in the system were mistreated and needed help, and I was financially stable, so I looked into fostering. Then, I got Madi. She was 7 and had been bounced around too many homes in her 5 years in the system. Immediately I knew she was meant to be my daughter.

She doesn't call me mom, and I would never ask her too. It confuses people sometimes (namely adults) who think we're sisters but we look so different and then when I say I'm her mom they get even more confused because I'm too young to have a daughter by societal standards and Madi looks nothing like me. But that's just our family.

I agree with what Madi said, that I'm not doing it alone, but being a single mom is the single hardest thing I have ever done. There are the things Madi doesn't even know about, visits with the state, proving she's doing actual school stuff, budgets, and running a business is no easy feat. Then there are days when she's so sick that every surface in the apartment is covered in vomit, or I think I lost her in the grocery store and nearly scream to high heavens. There's the constant worry about her future, the future of the planet, and the future of the world. I'm constantly questioning my worth as a mom.

The support system is pretty killer though. I've got a best friend (seriously, he's more than my best friend at this point, he's my partner) who will always be by my side when I need him, I've got friends who will help with childcare, life advice, or help me get seriously drunk after a bad week.

Traditional, we are not. But it works and that's what really matters. 

Since Madi did a day in her life schedule, I figured I'd do mine as well. 

 

**5:30**

Bellamy will wake me up way too early by either kicking me off his bed/couch if we fell asleep doing work or hitting me with a pillow if I managed to fall asleep in my own bed. Don't comprehend information until someone has given me caffeine. Tempted to go back to sleep, but somehow I stay awake.

 

**6**

Work, work, work. This is the boring stuff.

 

**7**

Yoga for dummies with caffeine by my side at all times

 

**8**

More work. Oh the fun life of a small business owner

 

**11**

Art with Madi, we're looking at famous female artists currently.

 

**12**

Lunch, praise be!

 

**1**

"break" which means I go upstairs and clean the entire apartment. Raven lives one floor below us but I don't clean her apartment, too much stuff I could break

 

**4**

Class with Madi

 

**5**

Dinner

 

**8**

Madi goes to bed, if Bell is asleep I make him go to his room so I can watch Netflix, if he's awake we try to get work done and fall asleep somewhere around midnight.

 

To all my single mamas out there, you got this. To everyone who is able to adopt/foster, please do. You have to take risks sometimes and adopting a child AND opening a yoga studio all in roughly 2 years? Definitely a risk. Was it worth it? Hell yes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> def not abby positive, whoops. also i disagree with many of the interview answers personally, but thats what the muse drew me to write!

**An Interview with Senator Abigail Griffin for Time Magazine**

**(this interview is part of a series about the most influential senators and their families, for more interviews click here)**

 

_Abigail Griffin and her daughter Clarke haven't seen each other in four years. They went to a tense dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill in DC but only made it to the salad course when Clarke stormed out of the restaurant. When asked about what the penultimate argument was about, Senator Griffin only said that it was "family issues"._

_Since then, the younger Griffin has made quite the name for herself. She runs NamaSlay yoga studio with best friend Bellamy Blake and has adopted a daughter._

 

**As a mother what was your philosophy?**

I wanted Clarke to be the best she could be. I never really believed in coddling a child, I don't think that's the way to success. Her father was much more hands on.

 

**Your husband, Jake Griffin, died almost 10 years ago, how did that affect you and Clarke's relationship?**

Clarke was extremely close with her father. Losing him... it hurt in many ways but what hurt the most is how she pulled away. Maybe I pushed her too hard too fast after he died, but hindsight is 20/20 and I can't change the past.

 

**Clarke now is running a yoga studio, did you ever expect her to enter this line of work?**

Clarke was born to help people. I believe her talents could be best used as a doctor and that she's doing herself a disservice by not pursuing it, but if yoga is her calling than so be it.

 

**And she's been friends with her co-owner Bellamy Blake since childhood, what do you remember about him?**

Bellamy Blake was never a good influence on Clarke. She'd be at his house for sometimes days on end and it hurts me to see that she's remained so close with him. I don't think her owning a business with him and raising her daughter around him is smart. 

 

**Have you met your granddaughter?**

No. 

_(I tried to press further, but the subject was clearly a sore spot.)_

 

**Rumors have been swirling about a potential presidential run for you, do you think Clarke would support you?**

I sincerely hope so. Family is everything and I want Clarke to realize that friends aren't a true family and that we need to support each other.

 

**Your daughter has come out in opposition to many of your policies, what do you think about that?**

It's a free country and freedom of speech is protected. Do I wish that she could be less public with the remarks, of course, but I don't think she should be completely silent.

_****_

_When Time reached out to Clarke for a comment she said that “it is well known_ _that [she disagrees] with the Senator’s ideals and that it isn’t a difference of opinion but one of morality. [She doesn’t] understand how the Senator sleeps at night.” and if her mother were to consider a presidential run there's “no chance in hell” she’d have her daughters support._


	10. Chapter 10

**How a Yoga Studio Became a Safe Haven for Queer People**

**by Amelia Sinclair**

**(this is part one of a two-part series on the yoga studio Nama-Slay)**

 

Nama-Slay yoga studio in Boston is the most inclusive place I have ever been. All instructors wear pins with their pronouns on them, the restrooms are gender neutral, and the pride flag is hanging above the front desk. Considering 4 of the instructors (2 of whom are the co-owners of the studio) identify as some shade of queer it's not surprising that they try to make the studio as welcoming as possible, especially when you learn about their past experiences regarding gender and sexual identity.

I sat down with Jasper Jordan (he/him, trans), Monty Green (he/him, gay), Clarke Griffin (she/her, bi), and Bellamy Blake (he/him, bi) to discuss the tangled up past of these childhood friends.

Jordan and Green have been best friends since pre-school. Green was the first person Jordan came out, and he originally identified as bisexual before realizing that "[he] didn't want to sleep with a guy, [he] wanted to BE a guy and to only sleep with girls". Green was by his friends side the entire time, switching names and pronouns without questions, helping Jordan purchase a binder, and standing by him when Jordans family found out he was trans. Jordan couldn't move into Green's house because of how close their families were, so he turned to their other friend Octavia Blake. Jordan began living at the Blake home and became close to Bellamy and Clarke. Blake and Griffin were "extremely supportive" and took it upon themselves to be the parents his never were. They reminded him to take breaks from his binder, they argued with his teachers until they stopped deadnaming him, and they helped him find a regular job and buy an apartment, all while saving up money on the side to pay for top surgery. When they pitched the idea for Nama-Slay studio, he was all in.

Green grew up in a Korean family where the general vibe was "don't ask, don't tell". They weren't unsupportive, but they weren't supportive either. His family largely ignored his coming out, instead choosing to "humor" him and hope it was all a phase. This, Green says, is exactly what he doesn't want. He doesn't want kids "living in limbo, not knowing if their family will accept them or not. It should stop even being a question. Our society will not be fully advanced until we live without judgment, and where a guy bringing a guy home is treated the same as a guy bringing a girl home".

Blake never needed to come out. His mom "was never around" and his father was "firmly out of the picture" so that just left Octavia and Clarke. With Octavia, the two siblings are closer than any siblings I've ever seen. One day Octavia asked him who he had a crush on, and he answered a guy in their school and she said she thought he was cute as well. A year later when he said he had a girlfriend, Octavia never questioned it. In Blake's own words he admits that he "absolutely hates labels and [he] wouldn't even label [himself] if [he] didn't know hetero was the standard. By labeling [himself], [he's] one more person breaking the standard". And Clarke was Clarke, they never needed to say a word to understand what the other was thinking. They were there for each other (and their friends) always, without questions.

Griffin is the most high-profile member of the studio. Daughter of Senator Abigail Griffin she's always had to be the golden child for her mother. Not around her father, however. "He always knew. He'd ask me about my crushes and when I'd say 'she' he never batted an eye." Griffin says. She never told her mother that she was bisexual until her dad died. Clarke "mentioned that [she] had a girlfriend and that the girlfriend would be going to a fundraiser for [her] mom's campaign. Abby responded 'can't it wait? We don't need to be so loud about your relationship.'" This was the last straw for Griffin. The Old Ebbitt Grill fight mentioned in that NYT article? This was that fight. But it's all in the past now, she says. "I have a family who loves me. That's what matters."

These stories and the ones they heard from friends, strangers, and people online inspired Nama-Slay. "We want to be the place where people feel at home. We want to be a gateway to conversation and acceptance" says Griffin. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Self Care Tips From the Teachers at Nama-Slay Studio**

**by Amelia Sinclair**

**(this is part two of a two-part series)**

 

The teachers at Nama-Slay Studio are often in charge of other peoples self-care, but what do they do for themselves?

Veteran and total genius/badass Raven Reyes spends her time taking things apart and putting them back together. While she was in active duty she was a mechanic so the "simple" act of systemically demolishing a toaster and then repairing it is calming to her. In her apartment above the studio, the floor is littered with spare parts and half-done projects.

Octavia Blake boxes. She was a nationally ranked judo fighter before beginning yoga and she still returns to the ring for either judo or boxing when things get hard. "I left judo because I no longer felt the need to hit things every day," she says, "but sometimes I need a break and I always find myself back in the ring."

Lincoln Woods will draw or commune with nature. As his name implies, he'll spend hours in the woods just walking around or lying in his packable hammock.

Clarke Griffin has many strategies that she uses. She'll either spend time with her daughter, have a night in with movies, junk food, and face masks or she'll draw. In addition to running a business, being a single mom and having a bachelors degree in biology, Griffin is an accomplished artist. She's commisioned for portraits and landscapes, which in the early days of Nama-Slay completely supplemented her income and the fees of the new studio. Now she draws more for herself, selling what she doesn't want for sometimes upwards of 20k on an oil painting she completed at 2 am. Personalized pieces are hard to come by, and always expensive. They can be found at the homes of New England high society members and are often shown off because they managed to get a painting by the elusive, multi-faceted girl.

Bellamy Blake will spend time with Madi Griffin or watch a historical documentary. That may not seem like a relaxing activity to most people, but to Blake "seeing how bad people have fucked up in history," reminds him that our fuckups maybe won't be that bad.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Chat name: mom and dad free zone

 

8:30 pm

jasper: hey does anyone know if bellamy and clarke are home rn?

raven: yeah i think so why?

monty: clarke asked us to watch madi for the night so she could catch up on work and they aren’t answering their phones

raven: why do you need them?

jasper: madi forgot her blanket at the house and she’s putting on a brave face but i know she wants it

raven: i mean i’m out rn but head on over

monty: kk, maya and miller are staying with madiso jas and i are on 'operation: blankie'

 

9:15 pm

monty: AHHHHHH RAVEN DON’T ENTER THIS HOUSE OF HORRORS

raven: ?

octavia: ?

monty: JASPER AND I WALKED IN ON BELLAMY AND CLARKE

octavia: oh god

jasper: THEY WERE BOTH NAKED

monty: OUR EYES

jasper: HELP

raven: did you get madi’s blanket?

jasper: YES BUT IM USING IT TO STIFLE MY SCREAMING

octavia: JESUS FUCK I THOUGHT YOU WALKED IN ON THEM MAKING OUT

jasper: GOD I WISH BUT NO THEY WERE FULLY NAKED ON THE COUNTER

raven: EW I ATE BREAKFAST THERE

monty: HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN HAPPENING

octavia: AHHH I NEED TO GET A LOBOTOMY

 

jasper: YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO SEE IT

raven: okay we've all seen each other naked before at least once

raven: so at least there's that

monty: RAVEN THEY WERE HAVING SEX

raven: did they see you?

monty: YES because jasper ran in and screamed and then i screamed and then they screamed and luckily i saw madi's blanket so i grabbed it

jasper: and we ran

lincoln: i won the bet, pay up mother fuckers

 

 

Chat name: nama-chill the fuck out

 

9:45 pm

jasper: so

clarke: so

raven: how was your night?

clarke: it was fine

clarke: how was yours?

raven: well it sucks now because i owe lincoln $50

bellamy: and how'd you end up there?

raven: we bet on when you'd fuck

monty: RAVEN we agreed to be subtle

raven: well they sure as hell weren't subtle

octavia: while we're airing grievances, i now owe lincoln $50 as well and if the two of you could've kept it in your pants for another month i would've won

jasper: lincoln has made $200 tonight

bellamy: does the bet depend on when you find out or when clarke and i got together?

jasper: when we find out

bellamy: okay so to be fair, octavia if we had our way you would've won. we were going to tell you next month

clarke: who bet on us getting together 2 months ago?

lincoln: that would be raven

raven: i despise you both with a burning passion

raven: I ATE BREAKFAST AT THAT COUNTER THIS MORNING

clarke: okay drama queen we sanitized it

bellamy: we have a kid in the house, we don't just do it everywhere

octavia: so how long has this been going on?

bellamy: we started sleeping together two months ago. we were both overwhelmed by everything going on in the business and too many late nights so it just happened

clarke: btw o, you had madi that night so thx

octavia: happy to be of service

bellamy: since then we've just kinda fallen into a relationship

monty: so are you bf and gf

clarke: nah, we're too close for that. we're partners. life partners, romantic partners, business partners

bellamy: i'm surprised no one noticed, we haven't been like hiding it

raven: to be fair you've been kinda in love with each other for ages so you guys being touchy feely isn't that weird

jasper: to quote cosmopolitan y'all " _are as connected as any two people have ever been"_

bellamy: sorry we kept it from all of you

clarke: we didn't want it to be weird

monty: yeah and jas and i seeing you guys doing it wasn't weird

bellamy: didn't plan for that

jasper: we'll bring madi home at 10. does she know

raven: i'm pretty sure madi has known since she met them

octavia: i picked her up once and you guys were asleep in the same bed and she just shrugged and said 'they sleep like that most every night'

octavia: OH THAT WAS A MONTH AGO

octavia: Y'ALL WERE TOGETHER

octavia: SHE KNOWS

clarke: we told her we were together and we weren't telling everyone yet and she said that she thought we were together on day one and since then it's just been a waiting game

raven: preach

clarke: thanks jas, see you at 10

jasper: BYE LOVEBIRDSSSSSSSSSSS


	13. Chapter 13

It seems as though Nama-Slay Studio was created to prove people wrong. People who said that the studio would fail, that the instructors would be jobless within a year, that it was just a passing fad. Those people must be feeling pretty damn stupid right now.

Madi Griffin is 25 and taking over the studio with the help of her friends. Certain things have been updated but the general idea remains the same. She is now the official owner of the building that the studio resides in and has moved into her old apartment. Living in the apartment with her are the two foster kids she's moving towards adopting. On the floor below her where Raven Reyes once lived is Madi's younger sister Janae who was adopted by Bellamy and Clarke when she was 15 and Madi was 17.

Monty Green and Jasper Jordan run the non-profit 'Ark' where they create safe houses for children in the system who are LGBT+ to go. They work with local governments to make it easy for children to get the support they need.

Raven Reyes works for NASA, designing spacecraft and fixing problems that to other people would seem unfixable.

Octavia Blake is now Senate Majority Leader Blake and spends her days fighting for the underdogs like Bellamy and Clarke always fought for her. Lincoln is a proud stay at home dad to their 5 children, River (12), Wren (10), Terra (10), Neva (8) and Calla (5).

Abigail Griffin never did become President, and the only time she's met her grandchildren was when she attended the swearing-in ceremony for Octavia and Clarke's family was sitting two rows ahead of her.

Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin adopted 3 more kids after Madi. In total, they have Madi (25), Janae (23), Marina (18) and Solaris (14). Bellamy left the studio to work for a museum instead when his knees started getting sore. Clarke turned totally to art and now is the proud owner of the Griffin-Blake Gallery where she showcases up and coming artists. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's that. for this fic i decided that Clarke wouldn't want to become a political figure, though i debated it, and Octavia would be better fit. if you want to read a fic where Clarke is president i have one, check out 'griffin for president'
> 
> thanks for sticking around, i'll see y'all on my oneshots hopefully.


End file.
